How many of You Have Bought a Refurbished Macbook or MBP?

[heatmiser]

You guys are not making me regret my decision of buying a new MBP. I feel like I wasted money I couldve saved.

Well, now you'll know what to do for the future! I only buy refurbished computers; whether in Windows or in OS X, they've been such good deals for the money.

 

[Baba Ganoush]

Well, now you'll know what to do for the future! I only buy refurbished computers; whether in Windows or in OS X, they've been such good deals for the money.

You are right! I only really started looking into refurbished computers for the first time today and realized how good a deal they were.

 

[gazfocus]

You are right! I only really started looking into refurbished computers for the first time today and realized how good a deal they were.

In UK, the deals in the refurbished store are not often any different to the HE prices, however, recently, they've had MBP's for around £100 cheaper than HE prices. May be tempted yet

 

[MacDude415]

I seriously considered it as I am only 16 and had to pay for my own laptop with money from work, but I just tried to find a way to get the student discount so that I would not only get the latest and greatest, but I knew exactly was I was getting into quality-wise. So, just use Education Discount if you can.

 

[Baba Ganoush]

I seriously considered it as I am only 16 and had to pay for my own laptop with money from work, but I just tried to find a way to get the student discount so that I would not only get the latest and greatest, but I knew exactly was I was getting into quality-wise. So, just use Education Discount if you can.

But the latest and greatest from apple are offered in refurbish condition.

 

[Hmm]

But the latest and greatest from apple are offered in refurbish condition.

They are now, yes. But from what I could tell, it was only this last round of refurbs that had the newer 2.2 Macbooks with the Santa Rosa chipset. I had only seen the older ones available before.

I haven't purchased a refurb Macbook (yet), but I have bought an iBook G3, iBook G4, 4th Gen iPod, and 2nd Gen iPod shuffle, all refurbs and haven't had an issue with any of them that I wouldn't have had with a new one. When I buy a Macbook, it will be a refurb.

 

[Tom B.]

Refurb BlackBook delivered 1/24.
Looks immaculate, just like a brand new one. Came in brown box instead of the bling box. Very happy.
Oh yeah, it's 2.2MHZ, 2GB RAM, 160GB, Superdrive, glossy screen.

It came with 2GB RAM?

 

[LSB80]

Can you still get Applecare for refurbished sets?

 

[Baba Ganoush]

Can you still get Applecare for refurbished sets?

Yes you can.

 

[chris315]

bought a refurb mbp. looks flawless. had a battery issue which apple replaced. will definatly buy refurb again. The thing with refurbs is that at least you know its been tested instead of coming off an assembly line and then shipped.

 

[sosnow]

similar decision

I am also looking at a refurb MBP, but the difference is only $100 (student discount) for a new one. I know $100 is a good amount of change but I think the new might be worth it. I could see if the difference was $200 or more but it is not.

I also have that little MBA trying to talk me over to it!
But that is for another post...

 

[TatsuTerror]

Isn't it actually safer to buy refurb because they check all the parts? Seems like you'll have a better chance of having a flawless computer, and you pay less.

 

[danny_w]

I am also looking at a refurb MBP, but the difference is only $100 (student discount) for a new one. I know $100 is a good amount of change but I think the new might be worth it. I could see if the difference was $200 or more but it is not.

I also have that little MBA trying to talk me over to it!
But that is for another post...

I thought the same thing last time, but IMHO the refurbs are actually a better bet than a new one b/c you know that they have been tested and turned up, whereas a new one may (and in most cases does) just come straight off the assembly line with very few if any checks. I would like to see a survey, but I would imagine that the problems/returns on refurbs is lower than on new units.

EDIT: TatsuTerror beat me to it.

 

[heatmiser]

Isn't it actually safer to buy refurb because they check all the parts? Seems like you'll have a better chance of having a flawless computer, and you pay less.

Precisely. Some folks can't get past "new=perfect/refurb=defective"--even though it's more likely to be the other way round. As I said before, back when people were starting threads almost daily about 15" MBPs plagued with yellow screens...a robot's not going to keep your MBP from being boxed with a yellow screen; a human with color vision and a paycheck just might. That goes for any problem. Robots box the new machines; humans check the refurbs before boxing them. Guess which laptop's more likely to slip through the cracks?

 

[vixapphire]

wow,is this true? Can anyone confirm this.

no, the refurbs are not given new exteriors. full disclosure mandates that i tell you the G5 i bought had an exceedingly minor (i'm talking no more than 3 mm) hash-mark on the rear of the top-rear handle. worth it? hell yeah!!!

i have more confidence in refurbs, since they are QC'd somewhere in the states (i'm guessing cupertino, but it could be arkansas for all i know), and are tested through and through before entering the resale pool. better something that's been gone over by an apple tech than something fresh off the boat from Korea; particularly when you pay substantially less for the former!

 

[vixapphire]

incidentally, when shopping for refurbs, always check smalldog. no tax, no shipping fees. otherwise the same tastey low applestore-refurb prices...

definitely a no-brainer.

 

[dringkor]

Got my refurb white Macbook 2.2GHz on Saturday and it's flawless. The only thing unexpected about it was that it came with 2GB of RAM instead of the 1GB that was listed!

 

[bijou]

My refurb MBP is almost a year old and it's been running great. The HD did go out (as HD's sometimes do), but Apple replaced it quickly with no hassle.

Refurbs are an excellent value and I'd definitely buy another one. Use the money you save on software.

 

[JSchwage]

The only thing I see different with Apple's refurbished products is the boxes they come in. Actually, you might say the refurbished Macs are more reliable since they have been tested thoroughly.

 

[Paix247]

My fiance bought a refurb 1.83 MacBook at the same time I got a new 2.0. They were identical except for the box! However, I also got a refurb airport extreme (802.11g), and that had dirty rubber feet on the bottom, but still worked great!

 

[bc008]

this might make you feel a bit better.

i got a MBP refurb a couple months ago, and the screen looked as though it had sand all over it, or the screen was wet (dont really know how to explain it), and it had a stripped RAM screw, and the screen didnt align.

im sure i simply got the 1 in a million "dud", and i dont doubt all other refurbs are/close to perfect, just seemed i was unlucky.

even after all this a call to applecare and 7 days later i recieved a MBP that was brand new looking, so i cant complain at all.

 

[dedzombie]

The only thing i noticed on my refurb was the USB port had a little mark on the plastic from someone nicking it with a usb cable... how anal am i

otherwise it was perfect

 

[kato8515]

i have ordered things from apple for years and always refurb i have never had a problem with anything.. i have ipods and i just got a new macbook SR edition today my old powerbook just died.... great stuff from apple

 

[jvette]

I got the Macbook yesterday. It looks great and shows no sign of use but it came with Tiger and I had to do a wipe of the drive and install Leopard. No big deal but took about an hour. With all said I don't feel this was that great of a deal. I could have purchased a brand new one on the Education Site for $100 more. This is a pre Santa Rosa chip so only 3gig memory. It will be fine for my son at school but like I said it wasn't worth the $100 savings.

 

[Melrose]

Mine is a refurb - I saved several hundred bucks and there's not a mark on it. Definitely save the money - you can use it to upgrade RAM

The tech at the Apple Store told me that refurbs are actually better: The Apple refurb team checks them more thoroughly than the new models.